Westminster Weather Station Maintenance Log
Back to Westminster Weather

June 22, 2010, 17:27

Have been having regular problems connecting to the Internet which have crippled data uploads every two or three days. Troubleshooting the system hasn't been able to pinpoint the problem, not even whether it is the PC or the network. Perhaps the problem is a combination of both. The situation continues to be monitored and the weather server restarted as needed. Apologies for the unreliable nature of the WSA weather station these last few weeks.

May 25, 2010 3 PM

Finally able to work on the broken anemometer. Tech support from Davis Instruments has been very helpful. Apparently the reed switch in the hub of the anemometer was sticking. So the instrument was not recording wind speed but the wind direction function continued to work properly. Poking around in the hub of the anemometer with a screwdriver must have loosened the switch. The anemometer is now fully functional again. The station's anemometer was down for over seven and half months! Hopefully the fix will last. If it goes down again, I will replace it with a refurbished unit.

May 5, 2010

Rain gauge was clogged and didn't record the rainfall earlier this week. Missed about .7 inches of rainfall. Cleaned out the gauge today. Ready for the next rainfall.

March 16, 2010

Replaced main ISS battery which keeps the unit in operation overnight when the solar cell isn't functioning. Data was not collected overnight since March 13th, 11 PM when the battery depleted too much to keep the sensors functioning.

Wind speed is still not functioning. Repairs are due soon.

Jan. 13, 2010

Replaced the anenometer transmitter circuit board. Transmitter is now transmitting correctly, but only the directional vane is registering data. The wind cups for wind speed are not working properly. Will have to access the anenometer mast to try and repair that. This is not a simple process as the mast is high up above the peak of the school's gymnasium. Hopefully the repairs can be made before too long.

Dec. 2, 2009

Rain gauge was not registering any rain today even though there has been .84 inches of rain nearby at Daniel Field. A quick check on the equipment revealed that a couple of oak leaves were blocking the orifice. I cleared these and rainfall is now being recorded. Unfortunately, the gauge missed a significant amount of rainfall today.

A student observed that for the last couple of weeks the wind speed has not registered higher than 2 mph. Clearly something is wrong with the anemometer. Checking the historical data shows that the anemometer quit working on October 9th. A call to the manufacturer to explain the problem has them puzzled as to what could be wrong. Davis Instruments is going to send out a testing cable to see where the problem might be - electronics or the anemometer itself.

October 1, 2009

Haven't been keeping the maintenance log current. But have been running regular checks on the weather station equipment. Replaced battery in both the ISS and anemometer transmitter. Battery in the anemometer depleted rather quickly. Put a new one in today. If it depletes over a couple of weeks then there must be something wrong with the circuit board.

Station is running well otherwise.

November 21, 2008

Battery on the senor suite died. An examination of the data records indicates that the battery has been without charge since 11:30 PM November 16th. The solar cells provided power during the daylight hours from about 8 AM to 6 PM. However, without the battery, no data was collected during the night. The battery is not replaced and should be good for another six months.

Clean the raing guage. All systems are operational.

November 5, 2008

Web server problems have prevented updating of the local weather conditions since Oct. 24, 2008. Those problems have now been resolved and WSA weather stationis back online and updating every 15 minutes.

Note: Heat Index and Wind Chill graphics have been added to the front page. Additional weather details continue to be available via the links to the left.

October 23, 2008

Checked the ISS to confirm proper functioning. No problems. Rain guage cleaned.

September 23, 2008

Weather equipment verified. All system are functional as appropriate.

August 25, 2008

Rain gauge and ISS (Integrated Sensor Suite) checked. Gauge is clean; ISS functioning normally.

May 21, 2008

Put a new battery in the Vantage Pro 2 Integrated Sensor Suite (ISS). Lost overnight data collection for a week to ten days because the battery went dead. With the solar panel functioning during daylight hours, daytime data collection continued uninterrupted. Rain Gauge checked and cleaned.

April 28, 2008

Cleaned the rain gauge, removing dirt and accumulations of debris which hindered accurate recording of rainfall rate.

March 10, 2008

Am working on getting a correct calibration for the barometric readings. CWOP analysis indicates the barometric readings are consistently low. I recalibrated today. Will check the data consistency in a few days.

Recalibration of the dew point readings seems to have had the desired affect of readings more consistent with the other areas stations.

February 14, 2008

The replacement part for the vandalized cover of the circuit board box arrived and is now installed. Weather station is back to normal.

February 6, 2008

Damage to the instrument weather proof box needs to be repaired; the breakage, fortunately, hasn't affected the station's performance but does make it station vulnerable to corrosion.

Calibrated the relative humidity 5% lower; also made adjustments to the barometric pressure to obtain more accurate readings.

January 25, 2008

Station equipment examined. All sensors are functioning as needed.

July 24, 2007

Anemometer functions are now operational and data being uploaded to the various servers. Equipment was set up about 10:45 AM.

July 18, 2007

Weather station down today from about 9:30 to 11:30. Checked the equipment to be sure all is in good order. Re-sited the rain/temperature/humidity suite of instruments in order to obtain more accurate data; and the equipment will be more easily checked for routine maitenance.

Anemometer is down until a new transmitter arrives and is installed.

May 1, 2007

Weather Underground sent and alert indicating that the station tends to show unusually high outside temperatures relative to area stations. The instrumentation needs to be re-located in order to record conditions that are more representative of the area. Have set uploads of new data to 10 minute intervals on the home page and 30 minute intervals to Weather Underground.

March 5, 2007

Data updates adjusted to twice an hour. Rapid Fire feature disabled. Station software updated to accommodate the new Daylight Savings Time parameters.